Most start on the north side of the parking area and exit from the south side. The trail start off winding through scrub oaks. You then climb a berm that is lined with pines. There are trails that will take you through a swamp and one that follows the Econ. river.
There is a variety of trails available.

From Orlando take 50 East to 419 (past the Econ river look for a McDonalds on the right). Turn Left go north until you get to Second Ave.(it is in the middle of a right hand curve just past an ugly yellow mom & pop store)Take second Ave. to the end there is a stop sign. Turn left, the road curves to the right. SnowHill rd. is the first road on the left. go about 1 1/8 mi. you will see a wooden fenced in parking area on the left. On the weekends you will see plenty of cars with bike racks.

Summary:If you're a serious MTB'er, be prepared to yawn at the ease of the trails. But if you're just looking for a spin away from people, it's actually got some redeeming qualities. First off....you see a lot of wildlife. I saw an alligator on the banks of the river, 2 river turtles, a land tortoise, a bunch of armadillos, and tons of cool birds. The river section is very pretty. I rode almost all of the trails and only saw a couple of other people. The signs are pretty poor (not a bad as some state below). But if you go early enough, you will eventually find your way back since there is only about 10 miles of trails in total. The best map is on their facebook page. You can get it on your phone if you go to the trail and scan their QR that is posted. The only semi-technical trail is on the western trail located on the river (the Blue trail). It's marked with blue posts. It's somewhat entertaining but still easy IMO. But hey, we are in Florida and not the Rockies. You should know that it costs $2 per person to park at the main trailhead so bring exact change to put in the drop envelop.....WELL worth the $2 to support the park and trail maintenance.....don't be a dead beat and try to poach, please. ps. I live downtown Orlando, and it took me 35-40 minutes to drive each way.

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Review DateFebruary 21, 2014

Overall Rating 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:Once a week

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Reviewed by: Nate
,
Cross Country Rider

Summary:This is a nice little trail system that gives Orlando riders a chance to get some biking in without having to drive very far to do so.

Like anything bring a map and start of easy, as you come back you will find the trail is more fun with each visit and you can focus more on the ride rather than worrying about getting lost.

I have seen some complaints about tics, getting lost, mud, sugar-sand, and mosquitoes.

The west side of the trail is okay if you get bored with the eastern sections but its pretty flat, boring, and YES sugary.

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Review DateJune 9, 2013

Overall Rating 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:Once a week

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Reviewed by: Carlos
,
Weekend Warrior

Summary:n
Hi, I want to let you
know that there are ticks
in the park. Two of my
friends went to tick on
their legs and are small
and dangerous. One of
my friend tested positive
for a virus transmitted
by the tick

Recommended Route:Recoment protective clothes and a good checkout Of your self aftet ride.

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Summary:I'm local to this trail, riding in Snowhill several times per week. Snowhill has a reputation for being confusing, difficult, sandy, and not at all fun, but I believe that a good deal of that reputation comes from riders who don't know the trail network and end up getting stuck. The trails are very poorly marked and can be confusing, but it is fun if you know where to go. It helps to have a local guide, but if you want to try it on your own, here are some tips.

There are two places you can park to get to Snowhill. The main trailhead is called Jones East. It costs a couple of dollars to park there, but you start right next to the bike trails. The other place you can park is the South Flagler Trail lot, which is basically across the street from Joan Walker Elementary School. There's no fee to park there, but there's about 1.5 miles of straight, mixed-use doubletrack to get to the bike trails.

The trails have almost no signage, and are arranged in a sort of spiderweb-like network. On top of that, the map at the Jones East trailhead is very poor. You can find and print a better map from opencyclemap.org.

It helps to have a compass. I've got one of those little 1-inch ball compasses pinned to my Camelbak strap. Snowhill is confusing, but the overall area isn't really all that big. As long as you can keep your orientation and keep generally moving in one direction, you'll run into the edge eventually.

Snowhill is bounded on the north by the river, to the east by Snowhill road, and on the west by the Flagler trail. There's also a loop of trail on the west side of the South Flagler trail, along the south side of the river, which is probably the most technical riding in the entire Snowhill network. Lots of roots and logovers, and never very busy because I don't think a lot of people even know it's there.

Stay off of the service roads! If you stick to the singletrack, then the only really bad sand is the palm scrub just south of the Jones East trailhead, and even that firms up pretty well in wet weather. The other trails have pockets of sand here and there, but nothing too bad. The service roads though are basically nothing but beach sand. That can be avoided if you keep off anything wide enough to drive a pickup truck down. Also, the farther away you get from Jones East, the better the trails get.

Recommended Route:If you park at Jones East I recommend heading north out of the parking lot. If you go out the south exit you'll hit a half mile of sugar sand straight away. I don't know if this area has an official name, but I call it the sand pit. Heading west around the metal gate is one of those service roads that you'll want to avoid.

If you're coming up the South Flagler Trail, the bike trail entrance is about 1.5 miles in. There's a bit of a clearing and a bench on your left, to the right a fence with a small bike sign on the post. When you go through the fence, hang an immediate right, and that gets you on the trail called "two bridges". The path going straight leads to a service road and sugar sand. Or you can keep going north on the South Flagler trail, past this entrance, another 3/4 of a mile to the river, where you'll find a couple of other entrances that will take you along the river on your right. Between the bridges that go over the river, there is the entrance to the west loop on the left, which is where the most technical riding is.

Other recommended trails in the same area:Soldier's Creek, a short out-and-back loop in Longwood. It's only about 1 1/4 miles around, and it's basically impossible to get lost on it. It's fast, fun, and somewhat technical. Worth checking out if you're in the area, but IMHO it's not really worth it if you have a significant drive.

I used to ride here during college and now live out of state. I'm wondering who manages or cares for the snow hill trails? Is it a local MTB group, local riders or the Florida Division of Forestry?

I'm co-owner of a Trail Company, and would love to do some work back in my home state during the off season. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I've hear the recent additions and signage has helped a ton.

Riders beware. My husband and I rode this trail this afternoon, this being my first time there. We were loaded with the trail map from the website, my GPS, wits, and experience. The trails are not marked at all. We couldn't find the fun, more technical trails my husband rode on a few weeks ago until later in the afternoon. And, it seems like someone has taken it upon themselves to make new trails that go off the property...which we didn't realize (since the map is terrible and totally unreliable) and we landed out on a huge forested, deer, wild hog, and snake filled tract of land. We could NOT find our way back to the trails, tried using the river to guide us, tried using our GPS and basically were trapped in the tract.

We had to call emergency officials as the sun was setting. We had to be flipping found by helicopter. Yes. Helicopter. And, even then, the aviator deputy had to walk to us after being led by the helicopter... We were beyond relieved and thankful!

We were guided out by two really awesome and kind Sheriff Deputies (one aviator and one road deputy) and in our walk back, we discussed the situation with them, asking where we went wrong. Both deputies, at different times, said that this happened numerous times. We were the farthest away they'd had, but being called out for getting lost was common. So many times, in fact, that a Deputy created a marker system to identify locations in the park for emergencies. This park is in serious need of volunteering or care from the county for proper signage.

So, basically, I do not recommend this trail at all. It's not fun enough, technical enough, and the fact that you can't find your way around is beyond frustrating. Compound that with getting lost and you can guarantee I'll never, ever go back. If you do go, go with someone who knows the trails well...and have 911 on speed dial.

Recommended Route:None. Riders beware.

Other recommended trails in the same area:Chuck Lennon (our favorite!)

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